Door closer

ABSTRACT

A housing of a door closer has two openings and accommodates a closing mechanism a shaft of which is to be connected with the door and will then turn in response to movement of the door between open and closed position. Depending on whether the door is a left-hand or a right-hand door, the shaft extends through one or the other of the openings so that the door closer is universally useable with both types of doors. An arresting unit is provided for arresting the shaft against turning when the door is prevented from moving and the arresting unit is accommodated in that one of the openings through which the shaft does not extend.

United States Patent 11 1 Sittmann [451 July 3,1973

[ DOOR CLOSER [75] Inventor: Brigitte Sittmann, Stuttgart,

Germany [22 Filed: May 15, 1972 [2]] App]. No.: 254,796

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Anderson .L 16/51 FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS 159,674 5/1940 Germany 16/49 775,719 5/1957 GreatBritain 1,351,550 12/1963 France 16/55 Primary Examiner--Ber'nard A.Gelak Assistant Examiner- -leter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney-Michael S.Striker [57] ABSTRACT A housing of a door closer has two openings andacay 1971 Germany P 21 24 194 I commodates a closing mechanism a shaftof which 15 to [52] U 8 Cl 16/55 16/49 16/51 be connected with the doorand will then turn in re- 16/185 sponse to movement of the door betweenopen and [51] Int Cl E05 closed position. Depending on whether thedoor'is a [581' Fieid H 185 R left-hand or a right-hand door, the shaftextends l6/13l 49 through one or the other of the openings so that thedoor closer is universally useable with both types of [56] ReferencesCited doors. An' arresting unit is provided for arresting the i shaftagainst turning when the door is prevented from UNITED STATES PATENTSmoving and the arresting unit is accommodated in that 2 33'1" one of theopenings through which the shaft does not oore t 2,703,906 4/1955 Wenzel16/55 ex en 2,528,904 11/1950 Norballe 16/55 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figuresf I I 1 (D K 1 n 22 O v e 1' 212 1 PATENTED JUL 3 I973 sum 11m 2 SHEEI 2[IF 2 en Q Q noon CLOSER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates generally to a door closer, and more particularly to adoor closer which is universally usable with both left-hand andright-hand doors.

' Doors of the hinged or pivoted type include, as is well known,left-hand and right-hand doors. This means that the door is eitherhinged at the left-hand side and then opens from the right, or is hingedat the right-hand side and opens from the left. Evidently it is possibleto provide door closers for such doors individually, that is a doorcloser can be constructed to be used with a lefthand door or can beconstructed to be used with a right-hand door. However, it is equallyevident that this is wasteful because it requires that each particulartype of door closer must be available in two models, one for use with aright-hand door and one for use with a lefthand door. To eliminate thewaste and inefficiency resulting from the necessity for providing suchdifferent types of door closers, it has been proposed to provide doorclosers which are universally movable, that is which can be used withboth right-hand and left-hand doors.

Door closers are ideally also provided with arresting devices which makeit possible to arrest the door with which they are associated, in one ormore selected positions, that is for instance partially open and fullyopen. It is known to provide such arresting devices on the cover of thedoor closer housing, but this has not been found satisfactory becausethe mounting is difficult and expensive due to the fact that forceswhich develop in use of the door closer must be transmitted to the coverwhen the arresting device is mounted thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, a general object of theinvention to provide an improved door closer.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide such animproved door closer which is provided with an arresting device mountedin a novel manner and which is universally useable with both left-handand right-hand doors.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such an improveddoor closer which is particularly simple in its construction and in itsinstallation, and which will operate precisely and reliably, both as toits closing operation and its arresting operation.

In pursuance of these objects and of otherswhich will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a door closer which,briefly stated, comprises housing means having two openings, and aclosing mechanism which is accommodated in the housing means and whichhasa shaft adapted to be connected with a door and to turn in responseto movement of the door between open and closed position. The shaftextends through one or the other of these openings, depending uponwhether the door is a left-hand door or a right-hand door. Arrestingmeans is provided for arresting the shaft against turning when the dooris to be prevented from moving and in accordance with the invention thearresting means is accommodated in that one of the openings throughwhich the shaft does not extend.

According to a further concept of the invention, which makes itparticularly simple to adjust the novel door closer for use with aparticular type of door, and

which also facilitates repairs due to increased ease of assembly anddisassembly of the components, the arresting means is configurated as anarresting unit which can be pushed into and slipped out of the openingto which it is to be assigned. Thus, no particular mounting means forthe arresting unit are required. In particular it is not necessary toprovide means for preventing the arresting unit against turning movementin the associated opening if the two openings partially overlap oneanother and if the arresting unit is provided with a recess into which apart of the journal for the tumable shaft extends.

The arresting means is advantageously provided with a disc having adiameter corresponding to that of the two openings so that it can befittingly received therein. The disc is provided with a transverse borein which a latch member is slidably accommodated, being urged in onedirection by a biasing spring. A very simple construction according tothe present invention provides for the latch member to have a flattenedportion with a roller being joumalled on a bolt in the region of thisflattened portion and the roller being provided in a slot of the discmember, with the roller cooperating with a cam track mounted on a camdisc provided on the shaft of the closing mechanism. ln this manner thelatching force exerted by the latching member is controlled underconditions of minimum wear.

In order to be able to negate the arresting action of the arrestingmeans it is advantageous to provide an arresting member or shaft whichin arresting position extends to a recess of the latching member andarrests the same against displacement in the transverse bore.Access-ability from the exterior is achieved particularly simply if thearresting shaft extends in parallelism with the shaft of the closingmechanism, passes through an aperture provided in a cover of the housingmeans and abuts in axial direction against the cover via an abutmentportion or surface.

By accommodating the disc portion of the arresting means in therespective opening of the housing means any force which act upon thearresting means are directly transmitted to be absorbed in the housingmeans itself, so that to all intents and purposes at most negligibleforces act upon the cover of the housing means, making it possible toconstruct the cover of relatively thin material. p

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top-plan view of a doorcloser according to the present invention, with the cover of the housingmeans removed for clarity; and

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line Il-II of FIG 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing FIGS. 1 and 2 indetail, it will be seen that the housing means is generally identifiedwith reference numeral 1 and is provided in the main housing portion,

which is illustrated (the cover having been omitted for clarity) withtwo laterally adjacent and partially overlapping openings 2 and 2 (seealso FIG. 2). A closing mechanism is accommodated in the interior of thehousing means 1, including a shaft 3 which is turnably journalled andwhich cooperates via a linkage 4 with a biasing spring 5 and a dampingpiston 6.

An arresting device 7 is provided which makes it possible to arrest thenon-illustrated door in one or, if desired in more than one position.The shaft 3 is of course connected in use with the door in well knownmanner,

which is not believed to require detailed discussion. It will suffice topoint out that when the door is moved between its open and closedpositions the shaft 3 will turn about its longitudinal axis. It carriesa cam track 9 provided with one or more peripheral depressions orrecesses 8 and the number and locations of these recesses 8, whichcooperate with the arresting device 7, dictates the number and locationsof the positions at which the door can be arrested. When an externalforce is then exerted upon the door, for instance when the door ispushed by hand, the arresting action can be overcome and the closingdevice will then close the door.

The door closer according to the present invention is of the universaltype which can be used with left-hand or right-hand doors, that is doorswhich as seen with respect to the direction in which they open arehinged on the left-hand or the right-hand side. To make this possiblethe two bores or openings 2, 2 are provided and depending upon whichtype of door the door closer is to control, the shaft 3 is made toextend either through the opening 2 or the opening 2'. The shaft 3 isjournalled in a bearing 10 which is accommodated in the particularopening through which the shaft 3 is to extend in a given use, in theillustrated embodiment in the opening 2. This leaves the opening 2 (inthe illustrated embodiment) free, and the arresting device isconfigurated as a unit 7 which is slipped or pushed into the opening 2'.It will be seen that the arresting device 7 is provided with a discportion 11 whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the openings 2and 2', so that it is fittingly received in the opening 2'. The discportion 11 is provided with a transverse bore 12 in which a latch member13 is slidably accommodated which is provided with a flattened portion14. On the flattened portion 14 there is provided a roller 15 which isjournalled on a bolt 16 and which is laterally guided in a slot 17 ofthe disc portion 1 l. A spring 18 biases the latch member 13 so that itsroller 15 contacts the cam track of disc 9.

The overall dimensions of the unit are held particularly small due tothe fact that spring 18 is partially accommodated in a bore 19 of thelatch member 13.

To negate the arresting action of the device 7 there is providedanarresting shaft 20 which in the illustrated embodiment extends inparallelism with the shaft 3 and is turnably accommodated in a portion21 of the disc portion 11. The portion 21 and the bore 12 partiallyoverlap and the arresting shaft 20 is provided with a recess 22 to makeit possible for the latch member 13 to slide by it when in alignmenttherewith.

Latch member 13 has also a recess 23 which is so arplacement when it ispushed back against the biasing action of spring 18 and when thearresting shaft 20 is 1 turned. The arresting shaft 20 should beaccessible from the exterior so that it can be turned as desired,

' ranged that the latch member 13 is arrested against'disr and for thispurpose it extends through an aperture 25 provided in the cover 24 ofthehousing means (see FIG. 2) a sealing arrangement 26 being provided toprevent the entry of contaminants. A slot 27 is provided on the end ofthe arresting shaft 20 which extends outwardly of the housing means soas to facilitate turning of the shaft 20 in a sense activating ordeactivating the operation of the unit 7.

The arresting shaft 20 is provided with a transverse pin or similarabutment 28, having an abutment surface 29 which abuts against a surface30 provided on or associated with the cover 24, to assure that the discportion 11 cannot inadvertently or undesirably slide out of the bore oropening 2'.

Axially extending grooves or similar knurlings 31 are provided on thecam track disc 9 and the shaft 3, so that the arresting position of theshaft and thereby of the door can be varied in accordance with the givenrequirements by angularly changing the position of the cam track disc 9on the shaft 3. The provision of the portions 31 which cooperate betweenthe-cam track disc 9 and the shaft 3 prevents displacement of the formerwith reference to the latter, and viceversa, even under substantialforces. To prevent axial displacement of the cam track disc 9 withrespect to the shaft 3, the disc 9 is provided with a slot 32 andretained on the shaft 3 via a screw 33 extending through this slot, thatis across is, as shown in FIG. 1.

The disc portion 11 is provided with a peripheral recess 34 into which aportion of the bearing l0'extends, this being possible because of theoverlapping of the openings 2 and 2. Thus, a turning of the unit 7 inthe opening 2' is prevented by the interengagement of the recess 34 withthe bearing 10.

It will be appreciated that the door closer according to the presentinvention is a particularly simple construction which can be readilymounted and dismounted and which requires no particular means forretaining the various components in their relative positions.Furthermore, the novel door'closer is specially reliable in itsoperation and can be produced and of course therefore soldinexpensively.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in adoor closer, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present inventionv Withoutfurther analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of thepresent invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting features that, fromthe standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristicsof the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore,such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a door closer, in combination, housing means having two openings;a closing mechanism accommodated in said housing means and having ashaft adapted to be connected with a door and to turn in response tomovement of the door between open and closed position, said shaftextending through one or the other of said openings depending uponwhether said door is a left-hand door or a right-hand door; andarresting means for arresting said shaft against turning when the dooris to be prevented from moving, said arresting means being accommodatedin that one of said openings through which said shaft does not extend.

2. In a door-closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting means being anarresting unit which is removably accommodated in the respectiveopening.

3. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein said openingspartially overlap; said closing mechanism including a hearing whichjournals said shaft and which extends in part into the openingaccommodating said arresting means; and wherein said arresting meansincludes a recess into which said part extends.

4. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting meansincluding a disc member fittingly received in the respective opening andhaving a transverse bore, a latch member shiftably .accommodated in saidbore, and a spring member urging said latch member in one longitudinaldirection of said bore.

5. In a door closer as defined in claim 4, said latch member having aflattened portion and said disc member having a slit, and saidarrestingmeans further comprising a bolt, a roller journalled on said bolt andguided in said slit adjacent said flattened portion; and furthercomprising a cam disc on said shaft and having a cam track whichcooperatively engages said roller.

6. In a door closer as defined in claim 4; further comprising anarresting member operative to engage in a recess provided in said latchmember for arresting the latter against displacement in said transversebore.

7. In a door closer as defined in claim 6, said arresting member beingelongated and extending in at least substantial parallelism with saidshaft; said housing means including a main portion provided with saidopenings and a cover portion on said main portion and having an aperturethrough which said arresting member extends to the outside of saidhousing means.

8 In a door closer as defined in claim 7, said arresting 7 memberincluding an abutment portion which engages said cover portion andaxially supports said arresting member against movement through saidaperture.

'9. In a door closer as defined in claim 5, said cam disc being turnablewith reference to said shaft.

1. In a door closer, in combination, housing means having two openings;a closing mechanism accommodated in said housing means and having ashaft adapted to be connected with a door and to turn in response tomovement of the door between open and closed position, said shaftextending through one or the other of said openings depending uponwhether said door is a left-hand door or a right-hand door; andarresting means for arresting said shaft against turning when the dooris to be prevented from moving, said arresting means being accommodatedin that one of said openings through which said shaft does not extend.2. In a door-closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting means being anarresting unit which is removably accommodated in the respectiveopening.
 3. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein saidopenings partially overlap; said closing mechanism including a bearingwhich journals said shaft and which extends in part into the openingaccommodating said arresting means; and wherein said arresting meansincludes a recess into which said part extends.
 4. In a door closer asdefined in claim 1, said arresting means including a disc memberfittingly received in the respectIve opening and having a transversebore, a latch member shiftably accommodated in said bore, and a springmember urging said latch member in one longitudinal direction of saidbore.
 5. In a door closer as defined in claim 4, said latch memberhaving a flattened portion and said disc member having a slit, and saidarresting means further comprising a bolt, a roller journalled on saidbolt and guided in said slit adjacent said flattened portion; andfurther comprising a cam disc on said shaft and having a cam track whichcooperatively engages said roller.
 6. In a door closer as defined inclaim 4; further comprising an arresting member operative to engage in arecess provided in said latch member for arresting the latter againstdisplacement in said transverse bore.
 7. In a door closer as defined inclaim 6, said arresting member being elongated and extending in at leastsubstantial parallelism with said shaft; said housing means including amain portion provided with said openings and a cover portion on saidmain portion and having an aperture through which said arresting memberextends to the outside of said housing means.
 8. In a door closer asdefined in claim 7, said arresting member including an abutment portionwhich engages said cover portion and axially supports said arrestingmember against movement through said aperture.
 9. In a door closer asdefined in claim 5, said cam disc being turnable with reference to saidshaft.